Container with safety closure

ABSTRACT

A container and one-piece safety closure which is substantially childproof. The container includes a cylindrical neck portion having a pair of opposed, semi-circular, discontinuous upper threads and a pair of opposed, discontinuous lower threads. The proximate ends of opposed upper threads and lower threads are attached to a pair of opposed, vertically extending stop members formed integrally on the neck of the container. The distal ends of each of the upper and lower thread members terminate short of the opposed stop member. A cup-shaped, generally cylindrical cap is provided which has a pair of opposed projections on its interior wall adjacent the lower periphery thereof. The projections are adapted to be received between the upper and lower thread members and, upon counterclockwise movement followed by clockwise movement, lock the closure on the container neck. Reversal of the sequence with applied pressure permits the removal of the safety cap from the container.

United States Patent [191 Marchant [451 Aug. 13, 1974 [5 CONTAINER WITH SAFETY CLOSURE [75] Inventor: Paul A. Marchant, Kansas City, Mo.

[73] Assignee: Ethyl Development Corporation,

Kansas City, Mo.

[22] Filed: Aug. 2, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 277,418

Primary ExaminerGeorge T. Hall v Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald L. Johnson; John F. Sieberth; E. Donald Mays [5 7] ABSTRACT A container and one-piece safety closure which is substantially childproof. The container includes a cylindrical neck portion having a pair of opposed, semicircular, discontinuous upper threads and a pair of opposed, discontinuous lower threads. The proximate ends of opposed upper threads and lower threads are attached to a pair of opposed, vertically extending stop members formed integrally on the neck of the container. The distal ends of each of the upper and lower thread members terminate short of the opposed stop member. A cup-shaped, generally cylindrical cap is provided which has a pair of opposed projections on its interior wall adjacent the lower periphery thereof. The projections are adapted to be received between the upper and lower thread members and, upon counterclockwise movement followed by clockwise movement, lock the closure on the container neck. Reversal of the sequence with applied pressure permits the removal of the safety cap from the container.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures samura FIG. 4.

I FIG.

. 1 CONTAINER WITH SAFETY CLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Efforts have been accelerated over the past few years to provide satisfactory childproof safety closures for containers used for toxic and dangerous substances such as medicines, insecticides, cleaners and other ma-' terials which could be harmful to a child if ingested. Provisions of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-601 of Dec. 30, 1970) require that, in the near future, many substances be packaged in containers having childproof closures.

Many of the childproof closures developed to date suffer from undesirable features. Often childproof container closures are designed wherein the parts forming the closure are so complex and complicated that it is not economically feasible to produce and use such closures on low-cost items such as small bottles of aspirin, cleaners and other low-cost commodities. Prior art safety closures often require such complicated movements and/or understanding of the operation that they cannot be conveniently removed by adults. Additionally, some closures require gripping forces or movements which are not convenient for aged people who most often are required to remove safety closures from medicine containers. Many of the present safety closures require two or more separate components which increase the cost of the closure and often require multiple steps when assembling the closure and capping the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved safety closure and container.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container having a safety closure which is of a simple one-piece construction and economical to produce.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a container and safety closure having a positive seal suitable for packaging liquid products.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a container having a safety closure which may be easily removed from the container by an adult, but is sufficient or impossible to remove by a child.

The foregoing and other objects are provided in a container and safety closure cap wherein the container has a generally cylindrical neck; a pair of opposed, semi-circular upper threads on the exterior sidewall of the neck; and a pair of opposed, semi-circular lower threads on the exterior sidewall of the neck. A pair of opposed, vertically extending stop members are provided on the exterior sidewall of the neck. The proximate ends of one of the upper and one of the lower threads are attached to each of the stop'members. A generally cup-shaped closure adapted to be received on the neck of thecontainer is provided. The cap has a generally cylindrical top and an integral skirt depending from the top. The interior sidewall of the skirt is provided with two opposed, inwardly extending projections. The projections are adapted to be received between the upper and lower threads to lock the cap on the container neck.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a container and cap in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of the present invention of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the neck portion of the container of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the neck of the container as seen in FIG. 3 rotated FIG. 5 is a top view of the cap constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side, elevational view of the cap of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational, sectional view of the cap of FIG. 5 taken along line 8-8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the container, designated generally by the numeral 10, is shown in the form of a vial which is suitable for packaging pharmaceutical preparations and so forth. However, it is understood that the container of the present invention may be of any suitable size and shape as desired. The container is provided with a generally cylindrical neck 11 which, in the embodiment shown, is separated from the body of the container by an annular, outwardly extending ledge 12. The neck 11 of the container is provided with a generally cylindrical sidewall 13 which has integrally formed thereon a pair of opposed, semi-circular, interrupted upper threads 14-14. The neck is also provided with a pair of semi-circular, opposed, interrupted lower threads 15-15. A pair of integrally formed, generally rectangular, outwardly extending stop members are provided on opposite sides of the exterior sidewall of the container. The stop members are designated by the numerals 16-16. The proximate end 17 of each of the upper threads 14-14 is integrally formed with and attached to the upper portion of opposite stop members 16-16. Likewise, the proximate end 18 of each of the lower threads 15-15 is integrally formed with and attached to opposite stop members 16-16. The distal end 19 of each of the upper threads 14-14 terminates short of the stop member 16 opposite to its proximate end to provide a slot or gap 20 between the thread and stop member. The distal end 21 of each of the lower threads 15-15, likewise, also terminates short of the stop member opposite its proximate end to provide a slot or gap 22.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 5-8, the container 10 is provided with a generally cylindrical, one-piece cap, designated generally by the numeral 23. The cap is provided with a generally circular top wall 24 and an integrally formed, depending skirt section 25. The top wall 24 of the cap is slightly convex in shape as seen more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 8. The top wall is also provided with an annular recess 26 in its top surface. The interior sidewall 27 of the cap is substantially cylindrical and is smooth with the exception of the two integrally formed, opposed projections 28-28 extending inwardly from each side thereof. These projections are located adjacent the lower periphery of the skirt. The exterior sidewall of the cap may be provided with a series of adjacent, generally rectangular, slightly concave panels 29 which assist in gripping the cap for application to the container and removal therefrom.

To apply the safety closure cap 23 to the container 10, the cap is placed on the container neck 11 with the projections 28-28 directly above the slots 20-20 and pushed down until the projections engage the lower threads l-l5. The container safety closure cap is then rotated counterclockwise until the projections strike the stop members 16-16. The safety closure cap is then pushed further down on the container neck so that the projections 28-28 pass through slots 22-22. Next, the container cap is rotated clockwise with the projections 28-28 moving along the underside of lower threads 15-15 until the projections are received in recesses 30-30 provided on the underside of the lower threads 15-15. The provision of the annular recess 26 in the top 24 of the cap permits the skirt 25 to elongate or stretch downwardly as the projections move along the underside of the lower threads 15-15. Thus, when the projections reach the recesses 30-30, the tension created between the skirt and the upper portion of the cap through the thin web defined by the recess 26 causes the projections to be firmly seated in the recess 30.

To remove the cap, an adult will grasp the container in one hand, apply the palm of the other hand to the top of the closure and rotate the closure in accordance with the suggested movements embossed on the top of the cap (see FIG. 5). The cap is rotated first in a counterclockwise direction removing the projections 28-28 from the recesses 30-30 and moving them along the underside of the lower threads -15. When the projections strike the stops 16-16, the cap is pulled up until the projections strike the underside of the upper threads 14-14, and then the cap is rotated clockwise to move the projections in between the upper and lower threads until the slots -20 are reached-until the projections strike the stops 16-16. The user then lifts the cap off the container and can remove the product therefrom.

The container of the invention may be formed from metal, glass or plastic. The cap or safety closure can be formed from metal; however, it is preferred that the cap be made from a semi-rigid plastic material, for example, by injection molding low or medium density polyethylene, polypropylene, plasticized polyvinyl chloride, or any other suitable thermoplastic material.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a container having a simple one-piece safety closure. The closure is readily and economically produced from a low-cost thermoplastic material. The container and safety closure provide a liquidtight seal and are suitable for packaging liquid products such as medicines, detergents, drain cleaners and insecticides. The closure can be readily opened and closed by an adult, but is difficult, if not impossible, for a child of 5 years of age or less to open.

While the invention has been described with reference to the drawings, it is understood that the present description is only by way of example and that many variations and modifications of the construction of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. in a container and safety closure cap therefor, the combination comprising: a. a container having a generally cylindrical neck,

i. a single pair of opposed, semi-circular upper helical threads on the exterior sidewall of said neck,

ii. a single pair of opposed, semi-circular lower helical threads on the exterior sidewall of said neck,

iii. a single pair of opposed, vertically extending stop members on the exterior sidewall of said neck, the proximate ends of one of said upper and one of said lower threads being attached to each of said stop members on opposite sides thereof; and

I b. a generally cup-shaped cap adapted to be received on said neck, said cap having a generally cylindrical top and an integral skirt depending from said top, the interior sidewall of said skirt being provided with two opposed, inwardly extending projections, said projections adapted to successively engage said upper and lower threads upon clockwise and counterclockwise rotation to lock said cap on said container neck.

2. In the container and safety closure cap of claim 1 wherein a recess adapted to receive one of said projections is located on the underside of each of said lower threads adjacent each of said stop members.

3. In the container and safety closure cap of claim 1 wherein said stop members are integrally formed, generally rectangular, outwardly extending protrusions which have their upper ends terminating short of the top of said neck.

4. In the container and closure cap of claim 3 I wherein said proximate ends of said upper threads are attached to said upper ends of said stop members.

5. In the container and closure cap of claim 3 wherein said proximate ends of said lower threads are attached at about the midpoint of the vertically extending sides of said stop members. 

1. In a container and safety closure cap therefor, the combination comprising: a. a container having a generally cylindrical neck, i. a single pair of opposed, semi-circular upper helical threads on the exterior sidewall of said neck, ii. a single pair of opposed, semi-circular lower helical threads on the exterior sidewall of said neck, iii. a single pair of opposed, vertically extending stop members on the exterior sidewall of said neck, the proximate ends of one of said upper and one of said lower threads being attached to each of said stop members on opposite sides thereof; and b. a generally cup-shaped cap adapted to be received on said neck, said cap having a generally cylindrical top And an integral skirt depending from said top, the interior sidewall of said skirt being provided with two opposed, inwardly extending projections, said projections adapted to successively engage said upper and lower threads upon clockwise and counterclockwise rotation to lock said cap on said container neck.
 2. In the container and safety closure cap of claim 1 wherein a recess adapted to receive one of said projections is located on the underside of each of said lower threads adjacent each of said stop members.
 3. In the container and safety closure cap of claim 1 wherein said stop members are integrally formed, generally rectangular, outwardly extending protrusions which have their upper ends terminating short of the top of said neck.
 4. In the container and closure cap of claim 3 wherein said proximate ends of said upper threads are attached to said upper ends of said stop members.
 5. In the container and closure cap of claim 3 wherein said proximate ends of said lower threads are attached at about the midpoint of the vertically extending sides of said stop members. 